203Red like Roses
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Kingdom Hearts, or the characters associated with them as they are the property of Monty Oum, Rooster Teeth, Tetsuya Nomura, and Square Enix in respect to who they are associated with.
"Talking"
Thoughts
Ch. 16
The finals were ready to begin as everyone was excited to see who the winner will be.
Like the last round, teams needed to decide carefully who will be the ones to represent them.
For team RWBY, Blake was fine taking a back seat. Thus by default Ruby will be the one to face off in the finals. Little red was just boiling over in excitement with all the cool fights she was about to be apart of.
Weiss of course nagged her the entire time about taking the top spot.
Yang just smiled and laughed encouraging her little sister.
Blake just remained silent being supportive in her own way.
Though she had plenty of tricks, what fun let alone purpose was there in rehashing her usual tactics? Her goal was to constantly challenge herself. It was honestly no trouble to use brute force to decide the match in an instant. But then what would she have learned?
The world was vast as was it's possibilities. If she only followed one path she would be limiting her overall potential.
Though she would lose out in specializing like her friends do, this was the way she wanted to grow and live. Her heart always being free to follow whatever path she wanted without inhibitions.
Hearing the announcer, Ruby was brought out of her daze as she soon joined the other combatants to see who was going to be the last one standing.
The crowd was roaring in excitement as the stage was set and ready to begin.
The rest of team RWBY were seated together as they had their own opinions of what's to come.
"Oh you better not mess this up" as Weiss was stressed the entire time. She already had a bad feeling that Ruby was going to do something that might jeopardize their chances of taking top spot. Sure, it was no hard feelings if it happened. But she certainly would feel a little peeved if it happened for a dumb reason.
"Don't sweat it" Yang widely smiled as she smacked the Schnee heiress on the back causing her to wince. "I know my little sister. She won't do anything too reckless".
"That's what you're here for" as Blake gave an off handed playful comment.
"Exactly!" Yang answered seemingly proud of it.
With the brackets confirmed, Ruby would be fighting in the first match against Mercury Black, a student from Haven.
Based on his performance in previous matches, he certainly was no pushover.
But for the student in question, he wasn't sure what to make of his opponent. The match was already decided that he would lose on purpose while his partner would then use her semblance to trick Ruby into attacking him when he was already down. Like the other participants, they were studying their opponents to create strategies around them.
However team RWBY proved itself to be an oddity. Each member seemed to not necessarily have a fixed fighting style. The gears in his head were already turning as he was raised to be an assassin. Part of that was looking for quirks or habits in the way his targets moved or reacted. Reviewing their previous matches, team RWBY always seemed to have a new trick to handle their opponents instead of the contrary of in the moment improvisation to squeeze out of win. In a previous meeting, he learned this oddity maybe due to their access to magic.
For an assassin or more specifically for his current task, that made his job harder. Predictability was a thing that made folks easy targets. But for his current target, he wasn't sure what to expect as they had a very large bag of tricks.
Seeing her walking out on stage, it was just that. He didn't see that weird key like sword. Nor those 'skates' from the previous match. Instead she was wearing something like his own weapon appearing like some sort of weird armor on her boots. Just like the previous times, was this some sort of extension to the magic they used? Wait, was she going to fight him with kicking techniques?
"OK, I stand corrected" Yang laughed.
"Oh come on!" Weiss fumed. "This is no time for experimenting with the championship on the line here!"
"Calm down" as Blake quickly grabbed her to stop her from stomping off. "I'm pretty sure she knows what she's doing, right?" as she looked to Yang only for her to shrug. "OK, maybe be a little worried".
Meanwhile, Ruby was bouncing back and forth from one foot to the other. She had a very rudimentary knowledge about kicking techniques taught by her father. At this moment, she could mentally hear her teams reaction to her change in strategy.
As Weiss was chewing her out and Blake was trying to calm her down, "just have fun out there" Yang noted.
"Sure will".
With the green light lit, the match begun.
Mercury had decided to let Ruby make the first move. Watching her technique, it was sloppy. "Really?" he thought to himself. How was he supposed to work with this without it looking like his he took a dive? But either way, he still needed to fight back. As he continued to exchange shots with her, he started to notice that oddity again. Her technique was improving with each exchange at an alarming rate. Was this her semblance or was it magic? Was it perhaps she was a natural prodigy? But that wouldn't explain her earlier dismal performance unless she was purposely provoking him. What was she thinking?
While Mercury was trying to make sense of the situation, Ruby was just having fun. Having forced herself to try different styles it got her brain ticking in how to innovate. Then it came to her. Why not combine it with a bit of break dancing along with some wind magic?
"What the hell?!" as Mercury was now having to reevaluate on the fly. Ruby was spinning on her hands as her kicks were aiming high and low as her movements made it difficult to discern angle and trajectory. If he allowed this to continue he would completely lose control of the fight. Needing to back off, he kicked into air to get some distance.
However Ruby followed right after him spinning on the ground as she shot off like a drill through the air. Using wind magic, she never lost a moment of momentum. Intercepting him, he ended up getting hit into the outer ring.
Slamming against the ground, Mercury was starting to lose his temper. But he didn't have time to lose focus as Ruby was back on the attack. This was unlike the time he faced the Fall maiden who not only lacked skill but power as well. Comparing Ruby to the Fall maiden was like comparing a mountain to a rock. The difference in their abilities was just too vast and growing as he couldn't get a grasp at where her limit was. "What the hell is this?!" as he couldn't get the opening he wanted. But if he couldn't find one then he would have to make his own.
Going on the offensive, he couldn't land any clean hits.
Worse, he couldn't even keep her in front of him. He knew she was fast. But no way some kid was able to outmaneuver him.
Ruby chuckled as she loved the versatility of wind magic. Especially for defense as it allowed her to move as gently as a breeze. This was not even using her semblance yet as she just glided around Mercury's attack regardless of how much he tried.
For the audience, lots of cheering was going on as everyone was supporting who they wanted to win. But for one individual, she was baffled. "He's definitely not messing around now" thought Emerald as she watched her partner closely. "What is he doing?! Just let her have the win then?!" She was aware of Mercury's real personality. Once he gets riled up, he wasn't going to back down till he made his prey suffer.
Of course she couldn't flip the plan either as they were suppose to be covert about it putting all the attention on everyone else.
Needing to improvise, she just needed to make Ruby slip up a bit. Once Mercury got his head on straight then he would get back to the original plan. Needing to be discreet on using her semblance without arousing suspicion, she needed to trick Ruby's perception. Yet as she tried, it didn't seem to have any effect.
Not that Emerald would know. A little trinket was sewn into team RWBY cloths. Though they all had custom requests for their new combat cloths, this was one of Weiss's executive decisions. After some of the weird and terrible things they've seen on their travels, the Schnee heiress made it a point to procure a unique equipment called a ribbon.
It had the effect of negating all kinds of status ailments whether they affected the body or the mind. After the first time they experienced poison, disease, confusion, silence, and slow just to name a few it was a worthwhile investment.
Even now Weiss could still feel the pain on her assets of how much she needed to trade away and sell just to get four of them. But unknown to her and the rest of the team, her investment was proving it's weight in gold.
Having her fill of amusement and practice, Ruby decided to finish this. Going for a leg sweep created a wind torrent as Mercury was violently thrown up. Following right after him, she gave him a wink and a smile, "bye" she chimed before punting him right out of the arena.
Not only was his aura depleted but also a ring out. With that, the match winner was Ruby as little red was jumping up and down in excitement.
Getting up, Mercury was livid as his eyes were becoming blood shot in murderous rage. 'This isn't over! Not by a long shot!".
As he was about to march right back into the arena and finish what he started, "not here" as Emerald stopped him. The moment the match was called, she raced out of her seat as she knew what her partner was about to do.
Trying to wrestle his way out, the young assassin saw Cinder looking at him with a cold condescension. Regaining some of his calm, "tsk" he grunted as he marched out followed by Emerald.
Looking back to the arena with Ruby still running around soaking in the victory, Cinder felt her anger spike. Yet another unexpected miscalculation.
Since infecting the cross continental transmit system, the virus had spread to the surrounding servers as she was even able to manipulate the match ups in the tournament. Having faced a magic user before, she gauged that Mercury being one of their best fighters would be able to gain fruitful results.
However it proved the contrary as Ruby was playing with him the entire time not even looking like she took the match seriously. Just how much power did the keyblade offer?
Feeling like she was about to suffocate on her rage, she turned and left needing to get some air and rethink her plan. Everything was still in place for a full scale invasion. She had also learned that the Fall maiden's power was placed into a necklace and that whoever wore it would then inherit it's full power. Once the invasion had started, breaking into the vault would not be a problem.
The only issue was setting up the fuse. The first match was supposed to be the beginning. Yet Emerald and Mercury had failed to stir up anger and controversy. There was of course the second match tomorrow as they had planned to trick Pyrrha into destroying that Atlas doll making everyone think they had just witnessed a murder.
But with their plans coming so close to fruition, she did not want to gamble on anymore unexpected events that might threaten to derail their objective.
If subtle manipulation was not getting the job done then flashy and loud will have to do.
~ Beacon academy ~
The entire day everyone was in a buzz talking about the next match.
For the combatants themselves, Pyrrha was checking her equipment as her team was getting her warmed up.
Penny on the other hand was just running around like child interacting with anything that caught her interest before moving on.
Seeing a familiar face, "hello friend Ruby!" Penny said ecstatically. "As well as friend Weiss, friend Blake, and friend Yang. Would you like to do what friends do and hang out? Oh! I believe a congratulations are in order for your successful win as that's what friends do!"
Blinking at the suddenness of the situation, "yes of course" Ruby smiled. "Let's hang out then".
The team was already aware of what Penny was. However, it didn't really matter to them. Metal or flesh, she was just as real as any of them. The fact she had an aura was enough proof to that fact. With the many strange things they've seen out there, this didn't even break the top ten.
After walking around and visiting a few sites, they started talking about whatever crossed their minds.
"By the way, where is your teammate? Ciel was it?" asked Yang.
"I asked if I could go exploring alone. She was against it. But I promised to listen to her if she let me for the rest of the day".
"Are you not friends?" then asked Weiss.
"She was only ordered to spend time with me so I suppose not".
"What about your match? Are you going to be ready? Pyrrha is one of the best here at the academy" then said Blake
"No need to worry" Penny then chimed as she gave a military salute as she tried to act serious. "I am always combat ready!"
Seeing her reaction, Ruby couldn't help but chuckle followed by the rest of them. The young automaton still did not quite grasp the concept of emotion or behavior. But something about the situation 'felt' right as she joined in the laughter as well.
"Although I cannot claim victory I am confident to say that my odds are reasonable within a certain margin of error". Penny had studied everyone in the final round closely as she thought about counter measures to each of them. Against Pyrrha, she was in a severe disadvantage with her polarity semblance. Thus if she wanted any hope in winning, she would need to keep a firm distance while only going for range attacks. But even that was questionable as there was not enough combat data to come to a proper conclusion. More so, from her observation, she was purposefully under performing stressing the need for caution.
Yet among all the finalist, Ruby was truly a peculiar case.
If she were to win the next round then she would face her next. From all the data she collected, she couldn't think of a definitive way to beat her. There was simply too many variables in which she had no way to counter them all. Her machine side could not logically find any solution that would result in a positive outcome. Yet for her 'human' side, she was not sure how to describe it. Was this excitement? Anxiety? Fear? Inspiration? Whatever the case maybe, she wanted to continue experiencing more as she grew fond of this life she was born into.
As night fell, the match was ready to begin as the announcer introduced the next combatants.
~ Beacon academy ~
Several Atlas airships were in Vale under the pretense of security.
For quite a few weeks they have been showcasing to everyone not only their reliability but dependability of their weapons and technology. Propaganda followed by publicity to demonstrate their goodwill. No matter the strength or numbers of the grimm, Atlas was more then enough to hold them back if not outright beat them.
However moving quite a number of their air fleet into another kingdom was unprecedented which was creating tension on a world wide scale.
On the surface it was for the peoples security. But underneath was the secret war that was happening and preparing for the worse. James Ironwood had quite a few positions in Atlas. But to sum it up, he was one of the highest authorities in his kingdom. Being part of Ozpin's inner circle, he was privy to a few of the secrets behind the world.
Yet for all his strength and titles, his semblance was a double edged sword. Mettle allowed him hyper focus on his objective. The will power to see anything through to the end regardless of what happens. However it also blinded him from the surrounding threats.
Tried as Ozpin did, he could not get his friend to see the harm of his actions. An action that was now too late to avert.
The Atlas military robots were now under control of another. Their first action was taking over key strategic points. Namely the air ships hovering above Vale.
Activating all at once, the machines performed as they were designed too. That was with brutal efficiency as they removed anyone or anything in their way in order to complete their objective.
The humans on board were too slow to react. Too late to fight.
The military machines had conducted a simultaneous and coordinated assault marching through the halls, making their way to the bridge, and taking out anyone who would impede their control of the ship.
Now being the only ones on board then came their next directive. Indiscriminate destruction of everything around them.
To the citizens below, they could only look on in confusion as the ships they thought were protecting them slowly made coordinated movements as a number of weapons came online. That's when hell broke loose as they were now being fired upon as bullets, missiles, lasers, and cannon shells were raining down on the city.
Screams and cries for help roared out as panicked citizens ran wherever they could to find safety.
However the terror was only going to escalate from there as all available robotic foot soldiers and heavy siege walkers were deployed on the ground to continue the attack.
With the huge spike of negative emotions, all the grimm in the surrounding area were now attracted to Vale as a flood of darkness was approaching. Under normal circumstances, the border defenses would be able to hold them off for a time till reinforcements arrived. But that would not be so as several bombs had been placed in structural weak points that exploded once the commandeered airships started the attack. With all these openings, the grimm had found their way in as they started their rampage.
With all this chaos and destruction, the White Fang had now entered the fray. They made no allusion that what they were doing was horrific. For some who had some sense of morality deluded themselves into thinking they were doing this for the greater good of faunus or taking back what had been stolen from their ancestors. But for the fanatics, they didn't care. So long as humans were getting hurt it didn't matter what it costed them.
Hunters, huntresses, and any active soldiers did what they could to fight back. However they were caught unprepared, under equipped, and numerically over whelmed as there was nothing they could do to effectively combat this. All they could do now was buy some time to help civilians escape and pray for a miracle.
As all this was going on then came the final touch as Cinder took control of the emergency broadcast system announcing to the world that Atlas had staged an unprovoked attack on Vale showing the violence and grotesqueness of their actions before completely shutting down all communication creating another huge spike of negative emotions ranging from anger to despair which lured in even more grimm.
Everything was now proceeding as planned.
But it left one little loose end that Cinder needed to deal with before going after the vault.
She still did not know the limitations of the keyblade. For Ruby and her friends, she did humor the idea that they would be able to combat the power of a battleship. Yet for all their magic, they wouldn't be able to do much if she had a ship fire on Amity Colosseum while on a direct collision course with it.
~ Amity Colosseum ~
Pyrrha and Penny were still in the middle of their bout till sounds of explosions and screams permeated the night air.
Confusion took hold as no one was able to contact anyone outside to find out what was happening. However they were then horrified to learn from the broadcast system that Atlas ships and robots were now attacking Vale causing mass panic.
Once panic became a factor, what came next was obvious.
The announcers halted the match and tried to keep everyone calm. But it was no good as everyone was trying to run either to safety or look for their loved ones who were still on the ground. However the Colosseum soon started to shake violently. Looking up, it was an Atlas battleship heading right for them while shooting.
"What the hell is going on?!" Weiss exclaimed in shock as she couldn't wrap her head around what was happening. "Why is Atlas attacking Vale?!"
"No idea" said Yang as she looked around trying to get her bearing. "But if we don't do something soon things are going to get a hell of a lot worse before they get any better".
"What should we do?" as Blake turned to Ruby as did the rest of their team looking to their leader for how they should act.
For little red, she was being bombarded from all directions as there was too much happening at the same time. For a lesser person, their mind would have broken under the strain. However Ruby remained steadfast as her eyes reflected her focus. In times of crisis, this was where you either stand up or step back. Seeing the Atlas battleship heading right towards them Ruby summoned Crescent Rose to her hand. Looking to her friends, "Isn't it obvious? We're going to save the day".
To be continued . . . .
Author's notes: Hope this chapter was alright. But had quite a bit on my mind after digesting the latest lore of RWBY. I wasn't sure at the time how to blend everything together without creating plotholes or continuity errors. But after discussing it with a few folks, I now have an idea where everything is going.
Overall, I'm not sure how far I want to take the story as neither Kingdom Hearts or RWBY is finished. So I have no idea where a good end point would be where I can give this story to at least myself a satisfactory conclusion.
Anyways onto some commentary.
With some of the feats demonstrated by Sora, he was able to pretty much adapt to any weapon the moment he started to use it along with the skills required to make it work as noted in KH3 with all the form change weapons. Hence why Ruby was mimicking Mercury's fighting style almost perfectly right off the bat and adding her twist to it. If you want a more visual idea of what her fighting style looked like in this match it's was a blend between the Brazilian martial arts Capoeira with a break dancing style to it. Otherwise, you can just watch Dante using the devil arm Balrog in DMC5. Specifically his kicking technique but with wind it this one.
Mercury has some serious aggression issues. So I imagine if he was pushed in a certain way then that would be how he would react. Case example in his fight with Pyrrha and Yang as he specifically gauged them to match their speed and strength to exactly know how to face them to create the outcome he wanted. But in this fight, I believe he would have lost his cool if there was something well beyond his estimation. Also the fact when he faced against Amber, she was still too wet behind the ears with the use of magic. So I'd also imagine why his estimations of Ruby with a keyblade would be off as he only had that experience to go off of.
In terms of Final Fantasy gaming mechanics in relation to equipment, I'm not sure lore wise how they actually work. I simply go off their description. For equipment that enhances stats, I can probably make some logical explanation about them. But for equipment that provides protection against status ailments, I'm not sure how to explain that lore wise. But for most of the FF franchise the ribbon is one of the best defensive equipment in the game nullifying every type of debuff on the list depending on which game you play and against which boss you fight against. I suspect it would have the same effect here as Emerald's semblance hallucination would still count as confusion and thus would not work against the ribbon equipment.
I had thought about the 'what if' Mercury had been the aggressor in his fight against Yang to stir up anger and controversy. It certainly would fit his personality as he is a sadist. But at that time, Mercury and Emerald were still supposed to be sleeper agents till a time they had to reveal themselves. So I decided on this outcome.
After adventuring out into the worlds beyond their own, Penny being a sentient robot with a soul really wouldn't break the top ten weird things team RWBY has experienced.
Kind of have to feel sorry for Ironwood. His semblance has such a huge demerit that gives him tunnel vision and painfully places him on a one track mind. If it wasn't for his semblance, he really wouldn't have been so tragic.
With the constant set backs and delays, I figured subtly was no longer an option as Cinder basically escalated to start the invasion. The Atlas technology take over and the grimm still happens as it was supposed too. But the mindset of White Fang I still found peculiar. There were faunus living in Vale who were going to get caught up as collateral damage making their very actions counter productive. Based on what I wrote above, those were the only things I can think of to why they would willingly participate in such a terrible act. However some of them did not seem to be beyond reasoning in later volumes when they were confronted at Menagerie when their fellow fanus made them stop.
If there are any questions or concerns feel free to ask as I'll try to answer them.
So thank you for reading as I further extend my gratitude if you can review as well.